| Unit name | Company Law in Practice |
|---|---|
| Unit code | LAWDM0178 |
| Credit points | 30 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Russell |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
Company Law as an undergraduate. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None. |
| School/department | University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
Companies are the main vehicle through which business is conducted. Understanding how they are regulated is essential for anyone aspiring to commercial legal practice whether as a company lawyer or in a related area. Studying company law will help you if studying complementary units such as Corporate Finance and Corporate Governance. In this unit, we will focus on the practical application of company law. Acting as the legal advisers to a hypothetical company, you will be given a range of scenarios in which you have to work out what the issues are and advise your client on how they might be resolved to their satisfaction. This unit is particularly important (and relevant) for those who intend to practice law.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit is compulsory for those students studying LLM Company Law and Corporate Governance. It is an optional but recommended unit for those studying other commercially oriented LLM programmes. If you have already studied company law and aspire to work as a commercial lawyer, this unit will help you develop confidence in applying the law in a practical way.
An overview of content
This unit assumes a solid foundation in company law principles. It is designed, as far as possible, to reflect the fact that clients rarely seek legal advice based on discrete topics. It is far more typical for legal advisers to be confronted with a scenario that the client would like resolved. It is for the adviser to identify what the issues are and to apply their legal knowledge so that the matter can be concluded satisfactorily. This unit, then, is structured around various scenarios affecting one hypothetical private limited company.
The unit adopts a problem-based learning approach. Students will be presented with a scenario and a range of trigger material such as excerpts from the company’s articles, notes of discussions between directors, copies of accounts, extracts from various agreements, biographies of key actors, and emails to legal advisers. From these, and with guidance from the teaching team, students will identify the issues that need to be explored. Understanding of the principles that apply to each scenario will be gained through independent study, workshop attendance, and seminar participation. The emphasis will be on the application of that understanding to the issues at play. That application will sometimes be done individually and at times as part of a small group.
Topics that will be covered over the course of the unit include:
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
You will be able to identify, with confidence, the legal issues that are relevant in each scenario. You will think holistically about problem-solving. You will be comfortable with decision-making and with a lack of legal certainty in some areas. You will be commercially aware, able to understand a client’s appetite to risk, confident at expressing yourself clearly and concisely, and able to work under time pressure as some activities will be conducted in ‘real time’ during a workshop or seminar.
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
This unit is highly applied in nature and focusses on the skills needed for future practice as a commercial lawyer. As such, the learning approach is problem-based and interactive in nature. Learning cycles will be structured around a plausible scenario affecting a company. You will be given a bundle of documents for each scenario. From these, you will identify what issues may be relevant. Guidance will be given during workshops (these will not be in a traditional lecture format). The workshops will help you refine your ability to identify the relevant legal issues and locate the relevant legal principles. Seminars will focus on problem-solving, giving advice, and decision-making. Students can expect to work individually and in small groups. Seminar activities will include real-time drafting and advice-giving, oral presentations, and group discussions.
Reading and References
For those who have not studied Company Law in the UK, the following textbooks will be useful pre-reading:
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
After completing each scenario, you will write a short reflection of no more than 350 words on what and how you have learned; how you would assess your own performance on the task; and what skills you might need to develop for the next scenario. You may pick one of these reflections to submit for feedback. The summative assessment (see below) includes an element of reflective writing. In addition, students must provide an answer of no more than 750 words to an email query raised by a client.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The summative assessment will comprise a portfolio of 4,000 words in total to be submitted at the end of TB1. The individual components will be:
When assessment does not go to plan
When a student fails the unit and is eligible to resubmit, failed components will be assessed on a like-for-like basis.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. LAWDM0178).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
